More than 20 million pre-election ballots cast in voting ahead of the 2022 midterms
By Ethan Cohen and Devan Cole, CNN
More than 20.7 million pre-election ballots have been cast in 46 states as of Sunday, according to data from election officials, Edison Research and Catalist.
Three states have now crossed the 2 million ballot threshold. More than 2.8 million ballots have been cast in Texas, while more than 2.6 million have been cast in Florida and more than 2.1 million in California. Florida counties were required to start early in-person voting by Saturday.
More than 1.6 million ballots have been cast in Georgia, and North Carolina has become the fifth state with more than 1 million ballots cast.
Some voter data comes from Catalist, a company that provides data, analytics and other services to Democrats, academics and nonprofit issue-advocacy organizations and is giving insights into who is voting before November.
Georgia is home to several competitive statewide races this year, including for governor — with GOP incumbent Brian Kemp facing a rematch from four years ago against Democrat Stacey Abrams — and for Senate — where Republican Herschel Walker is challenging Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in a contest that could decide control of the chamber next year. Kemp and Abrams will face off in a final gubernatorial debate Sunday evening.
In North Carolina, the election for the state’s open Senate seat features a high-profile contest between Democrat Cheri Beasley, who would become the state’s first Black senator if elected, and GOP Rep. Ted Budd, who has the support of former President Donald Trump.
Beasley told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” on Sunday that her state needed a senator “who’s going to fight hard to lower costs” but avoided a question over whether she was satisfied with how President Joe Biden and national Democrats have handled inflation. She also vowed to fight for abortion rights, which she called a “real big issue” in her campaign against Budd.
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is favored to win a second term amid talk of a potential 2024 presidential bid and a showdown with Trump. GOP Sen. Marco Rubio is also on the November ballot as he seeks a third term against Democratic Rep. Val Demings.
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CNN’s Andrew Millman, Melissa Holzberg DePalo and Shania Shelton contributed to this report.
